Rato Bangala Partnership in Outreach Program (RBPOP)

A Public-Private Partnership Adding Value to Nepali Education

Since Rato Bangala School was established in 1992, the school community has devoted serious effort to develop quality education within and beyond the school. Over the years, this has been achieved by investing in the training of teachers and developing and testing new curricula and teaching methods.

In late 2002, after several meetings with parents and teachers, Rato Bangala decided that the time had come to expand and institutionalize its outreach activities. A Board of Trustees was formed, and at the suggestions of parents and students, ten schools in each of the five districts were selected – Dailekh, Dhading, Lalitpur, Makwanpur and Myagdi – for an initial commitment of five years. The School put aside 18% of the tuition fees in order to do this important work, and established the Rato Bangala Partnership in Outreach Program (RBPOP). Several RBPOP schools have become model schools in their Districts, and some have received national awards.

RBPOP’s second phase began in 2009. The Dailekh School Project (DSP), a joint undertaking of RBPOP and Rato Bangala Foundation (RBF), covered over 500 schools in Dailekh. The DSP received the Unesco-Hamdan Prize in 2012.

In 2016, RBPOP and RBF, with all the experience gained so far in Rato Bangala School, in Dailekh, in Gulmi, and from projects in Dhading, Kavre and Dolakha as well as from visits to Escueal Nueva in Colombia, and the Multi-Grade-Multi-Level Program in Rishi Valley is planning a new phase of the program. This time the focus will be in developing effective, doable and simple program so that every teacher and every child will feel a sense of accomplishment.

RBPOP also awards full scholarships to underprivileged children of minority groups to study at Rato Bangala School. Thus, every parent whose child is studying at Rato Bangala is contributing towards the development of education in Nepal. RBPOP works closely with the Department of Education.